Which steps are included when configuring a disaster recovery plan using SnapMirror in a multi-site ONTAP deployment?

Which steps are included when configuring a disaster recovery plan using SnapMirror in a multi-site ONTAP deployment?

• A. Establish a SnapMirror relationship between source and target clusters, schedule transfers, verify data integrity, test failover/failback, and ensure network readiness
• B. Create a single backup snapshot and rely on manual recovery without testing failover
• C. Migrate all data to a cloud archive and disable replication
• D. Configure quotas only and ignore SnapMirror relationships

Answer: (A)

In a multi-site ONTAP deployment, disaster recovery with SnapMirror hinges on creating and maintaining an automated replication pipeline that ensures a usable replica is kept up-to-date and can be brought online quickly if needed. The key steps include: - Establishing a SnapMirror relationship between the source and target clusters. This defines which data is replicated and sets up the automatic connection and policy that govern the replication process. - Scheduling transfers so the replication meets the required recovery point objective. Regular, timely updates ensure the target stays in line with the source. - Verifying data integrity after transfers. This confirms the replicated data is consistent and usable for recovery, preventing hidden corruption from compromising failover. - Testing failover and failback. Regular run-throughs validate that the DR runbooks work, applications can fail over, and services can be restored on the target, then returned to normal operations. - Ensuring network readiness. The replication and failover depend on solid network connectivity, appropriate bandwidth, latency, MTU settings, and security policies to support reliable, timely recovery. The other options miss essential DR activities. Relying on a single backup snapshot without ongoing replication or failover testing leaves you without a verified, recoverable DR state. Migrating data to the cloud and disabling replication defeats the purpose of SnapMirror for DR, and configuring quotas alone without any replication or recovery mechanisms provides no disaster recovery capability.

In a multi-site ONTAP deployment, disaster recovery with SnapMirror hinges on creating and maintaining an automated replication pipeline that ensures a usable replica is kept up-to-date and can be brought online quickly if needed. The key steps include:

• Establishing a SnapMirror relationship between the source and target clusters. This defines which data is replicated and sets up the automatic connection and policy that govern the replication process.

• Scheduling transfers so the replication meets the required recovery point objective. Regular, timely updates ensure the target stays in line with the source.

• Verifying data integrity after transfers. This confirms the replicated data is consistent and usable for recovery, preventing hidden corruption from compromising failover.

• Testing failover and failback. Regular run-throughs validate that the DR runbooks work, applications can fail over, and services can be restored on the target, then returned to normal operations.

• Ensuring network readiness. The replication and failover depend on solid network connectivity, appropriate bandwidth, latency, MTU settings, and security policies to support reliable, timely recovery.

The other options miss essential DR activities. Relying on a single backup snapshot without ongoing replication or failover testing leaves you without a verified, recoverable DR state. Migrating data to the cloud and disabling replication defeats the purpose of SnapMirror for DR, and configuring quotas alone without any replication or recovery mechanisms provides no disaster recovery capability.